Career Connect

About

Mitacs Career Connect provides meaningful work experience for young graduates while helping companies find the talent they need to grow their business. We currently have opportunities for projects that aim to protect the environment, create positive environmental outcomes, or address an environmental or climate change-related challenge.

Interns must be between 15 and 30 years old, a post-secondary graduate, and a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada. Eligible hiring organizations must support a green project in the science, technology, engineering or math fields, for a six-month placement valued at $20,000 to $25,000, subsidized by Mitacs at up to 50%.

Funding is limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. We are currently welcoming submissions until October 1, 2018, for placements ending no later than March 31, 2019.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change and Natural Resources Canada.

About

Graduates and hiring organizations can apply online together or find co-applicants by submitting and applying to open opportunities.

Offer a full-time six-month placement in a STEM field, with a focus on protecting the environment, creating positive environmental outcomes, or addressing an environmental or climate change challenge. Opportunities in the following areas are currently supported:

E.g., If approved budget for salary is $25,000 or higher, Mitacs reimburses $12,500.

Mitacs’ reimbursement is issued in two payments:

The first payment (50% of Mitacs’ portion) is issued halfway through the placement

The remaining portion is issued when the placement concludes and participants have fulfilled all reporting and/or audit requirements

Reporting Requirements

Mid-term financial report, signed by the organization’s Chief Financial Officer or equivalent

Post-placement questionnaires from the intern and organization, respectively

Final financial report, signed by the organization’s Chief Financial Officer or equivalent

Award Guidelines

What is Mitacs Career Connect?
It’s a new initiative that provides an employment subsidy to eligible organizations for a six-month green project that offers career experience for a young graduate. Career Connect supports projects with identified applicants and facilitates matching between companies and potential interns.

Who can apply for Career Connect?
The initiative is open to pre-matched companies and graduates with identified STEM projects, as well as individual companies seeking graduate expertise and graduates looking for employment opportunities, respectively. Visit Who is Eligible for specific eligibility information for graduates and companies.

Can companies access Career Connect to subsidize current employees?
No, current and former employees are ineligible; however, companies can apply for the initiative with graduates with whom they have a pre-existing relationship.

Can current students apply for Career Connect?
No, the initiative is only open to interns who have graduated from a degree or diploma program.

Can graduates apply for more than one placement?
Yes, interested graduates can apply to the placements that interest them with no upper limit; successful applicants are limited to one placement per lifetime.

Can organizations apply for more than one intern?
Yes, Mitacs can support up to two placements within a single organization per fiscal year, pending available funding.

How are successful placements selected?
Applications with an identified intern are submitted to Mitacs online, and reviewed in order of their receipt. If the application meets all eligibility criteria, Mitacs will approve the application for funding and notify applicants of the outcome, typically within two weeks.

When does my organization get the payment from Mitacs?
Mitacs’ reimbursement is issued in two payments:

The first payment (50% of Mitacs’ portion) is issued halfway through the placement

The remaining portion is issued when the placement concludes and participants have fulfilled all reporting and/or audit requirements

What happens after the six-month placement has finished?
Participants are not obligated to continue collaborating beyond the six-month placement; however, interested organizations can hire their interns after the placement has ended. Interns and organizations must submit post-placement questionnaires, and organizations are required to provide Mitacs with a final financial report.

Frequently Asked Questions

GET STARTED

Full application submissions must include the following completed and submitted forms through the Mitacs Career Connect portal:

Hiring organizations must pre-screen the eligibility of their internship opportunity by completing and submitting a job posting form.

In the job posting form, hiring organizations may identify a pre-selected intern, or may submit the posting to be published as an open opportunity on the Mitacs Career Connect portal.

Step 2: If necessary, identify an intern

This step can be skipped if the hiring organization has already identified a pre-selected intern in their job posting form. Mitacs will invite pre-selected interns to apply directly to the job posting.

For open internship opportunities, Mitacs will forward the cover letters and CVs to the hiring organization for all candidates that have applied to the posting, as they come in. All applicants who apply to open opportunities will have already completed Step 3 below.

Please note, Mitacs plays no role in shortlisting or identifying candidates beyond meeting the Career Connect program’s minimum eligibility criteria. Hiring organizations are therefore responsible for selecting a candidate in accordance with their hiring policies.

Step 3: Confirm eligibility of the intern

Once an intern is identified by the hiring organization, interns must confirm their eligibility by completing and submitting a job application form. Please note, hiring organizations will be unable to proceed with the application until this step is complete.